Who we are

The members of the PC3H committee are faculty, administrators, staff, and students. We are committed to promoting respect for and sensitivity to all our students and staff including those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer. We are working towards creating a safe, secure environmnet for all LGBTQ people at Palomar College. We educate members of the Palomar community and speak out against anti-gay harassment on campus, so that open communication, trust, and acceptance of difference can continue to take root and grow.

If at any time you or someone you know feels unsafe at Palomar, please contact the PC3H office. We will do our best to support you!

Sometimes revolutions begin in quiet moments that go unnoticed. One such moment occurred here at Palomar on March 5, 2009 on a cold afternoon in front of the student center, when we – students, faculty and administrators – stood together at a vigil underscoring the rights of our gay, lesbian and transgender colleagues and classmates to attend Palomar without fear.

As a faculty member, I always begin my classes telling my students that a college is a place where we come together and express ideas from a range of perspectives. “Look around,” I say. “Represented in this room are all manner of faith traditions, cultural backgrounds and sexual orientations. I have only one rule: regardless of our perspectives, we will treat each other with respect and civility; this classroom must be safe.”

Make no mistake about it: Safety and freedom to pursue one’s education regardless of one’s background is not a convenience, or a privilege of the few – it is an absolute right, particularly in America, at a public institution. All must feel safe here.

So on a cold day in March, students and colleagues alike came together in a moment to acknowledge that Palomar will not tolerate hate. Embracing, smiling, standing together, we said this place belongs to us.